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The federal government’s recently announced and proposed measures to protect renters in Canada from low vacancy rates, high prices and other significant challenges are not enough of anything beneficial to renters in Canada.
This proposed “renters bill of rights” is just a very weak example of the federal government playing politics, trying politically to appear to be doing something, but it is meaningless for renters.
In an email reply sent to me from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office dated Jan. 12, 2023, they wrote, in quotes, “Rental tenancy is a provincial responsibility” and “the matter you have raised does not fall within the jurisdiction of the federal government. Under the Canadian Constitution, rental tenancy is a provincial responsibility and is managed through laws and agencies established by provincial and territorial governments. Therefore, if you have not done so already, you may wish to share your concerns with the appropriate provincial authority.”
As I said, the federal government’s proposed renters bill of rights is meaningless, as the Prime Minister’s Office stated in their email it falls under provincial and territorial governments.
Doug Abernethy
Gravenhurst
